Appoints Asha Sekhar as Chief Digital Officer

Changes are in keeping with developing business needs and investment in talent development

New Delhi, 24th September 2018: Coca-Cola India, today announced the appointment of Asha Sekhar as its Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, India and South West Asia. In this newly created leadership role, which focuses on the company’s journey towards digital transformation, Asha will build foundations necessary for business growth, drive opportunities and strengthen Coca-Cola India’s digital ecosystem. In addition to her new responsibilities, Asha will continue to lead the media and allied marketing functions.

Announcing the elevation, T. Krishnakumar, President, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, said, "Digitalization is disrupting all industries and redefining the ways companies connect, engage ,communicate and do business. Asha’s expertise in delivering consumer-focused digital experience will help in our journey towards becoming more relevant and future ready.”

“This new addition to the leadership team of Coca-Cola in India is designed to address developing business needs and reinforces our commitment towards investing in diversity and talent development”. He added.

Asha Shekar, who will report to Coca-Cola India and South West Asia’s President T Krishnakumar, is a Coca-Cola veteran and has spent over 13 years with the company. In her previous role, as Director - Media, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, she was pivotal in setting up a separate media function to efficiently leverage marketing efforts in an increasingly complex media landscape.

As a core part of the marketing function, Asha has been a significant change agent for driving media strategy. Some of her many significant achievements include, the inception and later scale-up of Samvaad, an in-house digital experience center for Coca-Cola in India, that delivers consumer centricity for Coca-Cola’s brands, company and customers. She has also delivered some ‘industry-first’ pioneering projects and driven strategic media partnerships.

Prior to this, she worked for over a decade with WPP, Universal McCann, Madison and Mudra, managing media businesses for leading brands. She has developed multi-level engagement with all key segments of the dynamic media landscape ranging from technology platforms to content distributors.